Awakening: Reincarnating With the SSS-Level Extraction Talent - Chapter 444

Chapter 444: Chapter 444: The Creators’ Paintings, The Rewards of the Palace of Destiny
Alex had so many questions he wanted to ask Vexum, far too many to count, really.

Especially after discovering that the strange entity was one of the five creators of Universal Descent.

Something that still felt hard to fully process even now.

The idea that someone like that was real, and not just part of some system-created illusion, was difficult to wrap his head around.

But even with his curiosity burning stronger than ever, Alex knew better.

Vexum wouldn’t have answered. That much had been clear.

The being had only given him vague fragments of insight, never direct explanations, and from the way he spoke, that wasn’t going to change.

In the end, simply knowing these “creators” existed at all was a revelation in itself.

More than most would ever get.

Still, the thoughts wouldn’t leave his head.

Would he have to fight them one day? Was there a future where he would stand against a being like that? And if so, did he even have a chance?

Alex didn’t need anyone to answer.

Deep down, he already knew the truth.

No. Not now, maybe not ever.

The gap between him and these creators was like a bottomless pit.

He couldn’t even see the other side, let alone hope to cross it.

But there was one path forward.

Just before Vexum allowed him to walk through the final door, he had left Alex with one last cryptic promise.

“If you complete the [Chosen Games], if you’re the last one left, you might meet us again.”

That possibility alone was enough for Alex.

The chance to finally get answers, to confront the ones behind everything and understand the truth.

That alone made this journey worth continuing.

With those thoughts still spinning in his mind, Alex stepped forward, past the veil of swirling blackness, the real [Door of Destiny].

Unlike the others, this one didn’t lead to a trial or another stage of combat.

It felt different the moment he entered, like he had stepped into a space beyond the game’s usual logic.

Void-like silence wrapped around him.

He kept walking, his steps soundless against the formless floor beneath him, time feeling strangely distorted.

Then, after what felt like thirty seconds, though it could’ve been more or less, he emerged on the other side.

He stepped into a room. Small, quiet, and solemn.

It resembled the other chambers in the palace, with smooth white stone and ancient architecture, but lacked the towering pillars and vast ceilings.

It was more focused, more personal.

There were five paintings lined across the walls, two on either side and one at the far end.

And at the center of it all, positioned at the back of the room, was an altar.

Floating above that altar was a glowing cube.

Purple energy pulsed within it, turning and rotating slowly in midair, as if suspended by invisible threads of raw power.

It radiated a soft hum, quiet but unmistakably strong.

Alex could feel it from here, this was likely his reward for everything he had gone through.

Still, before approaching it, he found his eyes drawn to the paintings.

They stood out against the otherwise clean room, clearly ancient and far older than the palace itself.

And most importantly, there were five of them.

His curiosity sparked again.

“If the first painting shows Vexum, then the others…” he muttered.

It wasn’t hard to guess what that might mean.

Five creators. Five paintings.

If the logic held, this could be his only chance to see what the other four looked like.

Without wasting another second, Alex approached the nearest painting.

His eyes narrowed.

“…Oh, shit…”

The first one was indeed of Vexum, posed dramatically.

The figure had both hands raised in front of his face, palms facing outward, those strange holes in his hands aligned with his eyes, giving the eerie impression that he was seeing through his own palms.

Dark energy twisted and swirled around him, and that familiar crack above his eyes blazed with light.

Behind him was a floating stone island, suspended in some kind of purple cosmic expanse.

Stars drifted faintly in the background, like the painting was trying to immortalize him as a divine monument in space.

Alex stared for a long minute.

“Of course he’d make himself look cool,” he muttered under his breath.

There was no denying the power or aura the painting held, but it felt like Vexum had taken his time making it just right.

Still, Alex appreciated the effort.

Seeing a being like that captured in art was rare enough as it was.

He moved on to the next one, eager to glimpse the face of another creator, only for that excitement to be instantly cut off.

Fwish! Fwish! Fwish!

Hundreds of black lines suddenly slashed across the painting, covering it in an instant.

A wave of shadow shot out from the canvas, veiling every detail behind a perfect shroud of darkness.

“What the—?”

Alex blinked, but it was no use.

He couldn’t see anything.

It had vanished in less than a second, like something or someone was deliberately preventing him from looking.

He didn’t hesitate. He bolted to the third painting.

Just as his eyes focused, two massive black crosses slammed down over it.

They locked in place like sealing chains, barring the image from view completely.

Alex tried to pry them off, but they didn’t budge.

It was like trying to move a mountain with bare hands.

His frustration building, he rushed to the fourth only to watch, helpless, as a burst of purple flame erupted out of the canvas and incinerated it on the spot.

Not even ashes remained, just a black scorch mark.

Then the fifth painting, dozens of pale, unnatural hands sprouted from the wall, their fingers twisting and curling as they gripped the frame and covered every inch of the portrait like some grotesque spiderweb of limbs.

“Oh, come on…!”

Alex growled, his voice echoing in the small room.

He didn’t even try pulling the hands off. He could tell they weren’t ordinary.

The power behind them felt too heavy, too ancient.

And even if he managed to remove one, ten more would probably take its place.

In the end, he had only seen Vexum.

The rest of the creators remained hidden, their identities kept from him by force.

That only made him more determined. But for now, there was no point lingering.

He turned his gaze to the altar, walking forward slowly. This was what he came for.

The purple cube hovered above the stone platform, its rotations slow but steady.

As Alex approached, the glow reflected off his face, bathing him in faint violet light.

His eyes locked on it, and after taking a deep breath, he raised his hand.

Then he touched it. Instantly, the cube shuddered and began to glitch.

Its form dissolved into digital particles, bright purple fragments that rushed into his body.

They phased through his chest, entering him without resistance.

Alex didn’t flinch. This kind of thing had happened before.

He knew better than to panic. But this time, it felt different.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

He heard several notification sounds, the familiar rhythm of a system alert.

But they were quickly drowned out by a spike of pain that hit his skull like a hammer.

His body jolted.

His skin rippled as purple veins began to pulse across it, glowing faintly beneath the surface, mirroring the energy of the cube.

“What the fuck…”

He muttered through clenched teeth.

Despite the agony, Alex didn’t resist.

He clenched his jaw and bore the pain. He had endured worse.

And this, this was part of the process.

Several translucent panels appeared around him.

[Congratulations. You have collected all five Tokens, survived the Palace of Destiny, and earned the recognition of one of the Creators. Your actions have proven your strength.]

[As a reward, you have been granted:]

[+2,000,000 to Every Attribute.]

[The Creators Panel]

[Eyes Upgrade]

[Skill Creator Scroll (Forbidden Item)]

Alex nodded.

The attribute boost was insane, across the board, too, but the items caught his attention even more.

A forbidden scroll? An interface linked to the creators themselves? And something to enhance his eyes?

It was already shaping up to be one of the most powerful rewards he’d ever gotten.

But then he saw the last panel. This one was different.

The entire display shimmered with gold, surrounded by intricate designs and glowing script.

A soft halo floated above it, radiating divine energy.

And there was only one word on it.

[Godhood.]

“…Huh?”

Alex read it again. Then again. And again.

[Godhood.]

The panel didn’t change.

His final reward was ascension. Not metaphorical, not symbolic. Actual godhood.

His breath caught for a moment.

A reward like this wasn’t even something he imagined existed in the game.

It was beyond powerful, it was transcendence.

Everything about him was going to evolve, not just in power, but in existence.

Alex didn’t say anything for a moment.

Then, a slow grin pulled at the edge of his lips.

Going through all of this, every trial, every challenge, every brush with death, it had all been worth it.

Vexum was probably the one that decided the reward as he made that domain, and Alex was NOT disappointed.

He even wished to thank the weird entity if it wasn’t for the fact he couldn’t return to the giant chamber from before.

He looked at the golden panel one last time, then raised his hand to begin absorbing his rewards.

He wanted to get them all now to be able to test it for later, since the [Chosen Games] were approaching.